Does the Brain Detect 3G Mobile Phone Radiation Peaks? An Explorative In-Depth Analysis of an Experimental Study

Does the Brain Detect 3G Mobile Phone Radiation Peaks? An Explorative In-Depth Analysis of an Experimental Study

Roggeveen S, van Os J,, Lousberg R.Does the Brain Detect 3G Mobile Phone Radiation Peaks? An Explorative In-Depth Analysis of an Experimental Study. PLoS One. 2015 May 11;10(5):e0125390. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0125390. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate whether third generation mobile phone radiation peaks result in event related potentials.

Thirty-one healthy females participated. In this single-blind, cross-over design, a 15 minute mobile phone exposure was compared to two 15 minute sham phone conditions, one preceding and one following the exposure condition. Each participant was measured on two separate days, where mobile phone placement was varied between the ear and heart. EEG activity and radiofrequency radiation were recorded jointly. Epochs of 1200ms, starting 200ms before and lasting until 1000ms after the onset of a radiation peak, were extracted from the exposure condition. Control epochs were randomly selected from the two sham phone conditions. The main a-priori hypothesis to be tested concerned an increase of the area in the 240-500ms post-stimulus interval, in the exposure session with ear-placement.

Using multilevel regression analyses the placement*exposure interaction effect was significant for the frontal and central cortical regions, indicating that only in the mobile phone exposure with ear-placement an enlarged cortical reactivity was found. Post-hoc analyses based on visual inspection of the ERPs showed a second significantly increased area between 500-1000ms post-stimulus for almost every EEG location measured.

It was concluded that, when a dialing mobile phone is placed on the ear, its radiation, although unconsciously, is electrically detected by the brain. The question of whether or not this cortical reactivity results in a negative health outcome has to be answered in future longitudinal experiments.

Open source paper: http://1.usa.gov/1JonmIt

Excerpts

Exposure

• A 3G smartphone was used. During exposure conditions, the phone was dialled from a fixed line in another room. No sound was exchanged (mute settings), and vibration mode was off, in order to ensure that the participant could not identify the dialling condition.
• The SAR level of the phone was reported as 0.69 W/kg (head) in the manual.
• The sham phone was a non-functioning replica of the same weight and with the same characteristics as the functioning smartphone. In a pilot study before the start of the actual experiment, no evidence was found that participants could detect differences between the actual mobile phone and the sham phone.

In sum, this study demonstrates that non-consciously sensed radiation peaks, produced by a dialing 3G mobile phone, are detected by the brain in terms of short-term increased cortical activity. In addition, the ear placement specificity (compared to the chest) of the radiation effect on the cortex is striking. The crucial question whether or not the immediate effect of radiation on cortical activity may have an (negative) influence on health, cannot be answered yet. It would be ideal, but challenging, to perform longitudinal prospective research with differentially RF-EMF exposed groups in relation to several health outcomes. Next to EEG, transcranial magnetic stimulation might be used to test brain excitability, which has also shown changes in brain excitability due to mobile phone usage [25]. In addition, there is scope for investigation of effects at the cellular level, especially DNA change due to radiation, which will probably become more practical with the advent of novel imaging techniques.

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EEG Changes Due to Experimentally Induced 3G Mobile Phone Radiation

Roggeveen S, van Os J, Viechtbauer W, Lousberg R (2015) EEG Changes Due to Experimentally Induced 3G Mobile Phone Radiation. PLoS ONE 10(6): e0129496. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0129496.

AbstractThe aim of this study was to investigate whether a 15-minute placement of a 3G dialing mobile phone causes direct changes in EEG activity compared to the placement of a sham phone. Furthermore, it was investigated whether placement of the mobile phone on the ear or the heart would result in different outcomes. 
Thirty-one healthy females participated. All subjects were measured twice: on one of the two days the mobile phone was attached to the ear, the other day to the chest. In this single-blind, cross-over design, assessments in the sham phone condition were conducted directly preceding and following the mobile phone exposure. During each assessment, EEG activity and radiofrequency radiation were recorded jointly. Delta, theta, alpha, slowbeta, fastbeta, and gamma activity was computed. The association between radiation exposure and the EEG was tested using multilevel random regression analyses with radiation as predictor of main interest. 
Significant radiation effects were found for the alpha, slowbeta, fastbeta, and gamma bands. When analyzed separately, ear location of the phone was associated with significant results, while chest placement was not. 
The results support the notion that EEG alterations are associated with mobile phone usage and that the effect is dependent on site of placement. Further studies are required to demonstrate the physiological relevance of these findings.
Open Access Paper: http://bit.ly/1GnlGfq
Excerpts

• A 3G smartphone was used. During exposure conditions, the phone was dialled from a fixed line in another room. No sound was exchanged (mute settings), and vibration mode was off, in order to ensure that the participant could not identify the dialling condition.
• The SAR level of the phone was reported as 0.69 W/kg (head) in the manual.
• The sham phone was a non-functioning replica of the same weight and the same characteristics as the functioning smartphone. The sham phone contained the same type of battery as the real phone and care was taken that the battery was inactive in the sham condition. In a pilot study before the start of the actual experiment, no evidence was found that participants could detect differences between the actual mobile phone and the sham phone. As a check, subjects were asked whether they noticed any differences between phone placements after each session in the experiment.

The question is whether the (temporary) EEG changes, induced by mobile phone radiation, have clinical/adverse consequences. Answering this question is complex and beyond the scope of the present manuscript. First, it is unknown whether mobile phones change EEG activity in the long term. Second, EEG is a reflection of very complex cerebral processes. It is thought that the activity in the different frequency bands represents underlying cortical functions. An example is the thalamocortical network, which plays an important role in the generation of alpha activity [34]. Beta activity, however, only plays a role in the cortex and can, for example, be related to active concentration [35]. Since the functional role of the different frequency bands is still not fully understood, it is also hard to draw conclusions on the (clinical) implications of EEG changes.

In future studies other indicators of brain activity may be included. For example, transcranial magnetic stimulation is a method to test brain excitability. There are several indications that brain excitability is modified due to mobile phone radiation [36–38].

This study attempted to approach the question whether or not mobile phones cause (short-term) changes in EEG activity. There was evidence that mobile phone radiation is associated with increased activity of the alpha, beta, and gamma frequency bands in nearly every brain region. The distance of the mobile phone to the brain was relevant, a larger distance resulting in less or no EEG interference. Replication of the present findings and investigation of possible long term (clinically relevant) effects is urgently required.--
Joel M. Moskowitz, Ph.D., Director
Center for Family and Community Health
School of Public Health
University of California, Berkeley

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